Slip lasting last



s p .2,1947 F.L. AYERS 12 6 0 SLIP LASTING LAST Filed May 17, 1944 y 4 lll I fie? Patented Sept. 2, 1947 UNITED STATE s PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to lasts for use in making shoes by the slip lasting method. In accordance with this method a shoe upper and a flexible innersole are secured together about their margins to the desired extent, after which a last is forced in between them in order to shape the shoe. After the last has been forced into place, other manufacturing operations commonly performed while the last in the shoe may be effected,.,

and the shoe completed in any desired manner.

This invention relates to the construction of a last for facilitating the forcing of the last into position and the later removal of the last from the shoe. To these ends the last is made in a plurality of endwise sections, the end ones of which may be easily inserted into the toe and heel portions of the shoe, after which an intermediate section is forced between the end sections in a manner to wedge them apart until the intermediate section is in its final position and the end sections extended to the full normal length of the last and with the shoe stretched and properly shaped.

In order to prevent loss of any of the last sections, means may be provided for holding them at least partly assembled so that they are always in condition to be moved between a retracted position in which they may be freed from the shoe, or placed in an alined and expanded condition in which they properly support the shoe mounted thereon.

For a complete understanding of this invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which Figures 1 and 2 are side elevations of the last in extended and contracted conditions, respectively, the shoe parts being shown in dotted lines during the slip lasting operation.

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views on lines 33 and 4-4, respectively, of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the last in extended condition.

In the drawings, there is illustrated a last particularly suitable for accomplishing the slip which guide the portions for relative sliding mo- 55 tion in directions which will positively wedge the end portions and 4| apart into the positions shown in Figure 1, or positively draw them together as shown in Figure 2 In order to hold the forepart portion 40 and the heel portion "4| in proper relation to each other, a pair of guide rods '44 may be fixed in one of these parts, herein shown as the part 4|], extending through slots through the intermediate portion 43, and into guide sockets 46 in the other end portion shown as the heel portion 4|. When the parts are contracted as shown in Figure 2, the last is in condition to be slipped in between the upper materials and the flexible sole member which have been secured together to the desired extent around their margins and, which are then in the position shown inthe dotted lines of Figure 2. If now the intermediate portion 43 be pressed downwardly toward the position shown in Figure 1, the forepart and heel portions are forced apart, the forepart portion of the last being forced into the toe portion of the shoe, and the heel portion into the heel end of the shoe, filling out the space between the flexible sole member and the upper materials and causing the shoe to be shaped to the last.

It is desirable that means be provided for retaining the last in it extended position, and to this end, a spring latch pin 50 is shown which is seated in a socket 5| in the intermediate last portion 43 and is adapted to snap into an open ended socket 53, which is preferably in the forepart section 40 of the last near its upper end where it is accessible to release the latch when the shoe is on the last and is laced up. Thus when the intermediate portion 43 is pushed into its wedging position of Figure 1, the latch 50 snaps into the socket 53 and holds the last parts extended. The last may be released by inserting a rod, shown in dotted lines at 54 in Figure 1, into the latch socket 53, retracting the latch so as to release the portions 40 and 43 for sliding motion to contract the length of the last. A screw eye 56 carried by the wedge portion 43 may receive a tool for retracting this portion to the position of Figure 2. Ordinarily it will not be found necessary to latch the intermediate portion 43 to the heel portion 4|, but of course this may be done, if desired.

From the foregoing description of an embodiment of this invention, it should be evident to those skilled in the art that changes and modi fications might be made without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

3 I claim: A last having end portions comprising a forepart and a heel portion, a wedge shaped intermediate portion, said portions having cooperating dovetail guides on the adjacent faces of said 5 REFERENCES orrsn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 790,128 Haveron May 16, 1905 871,138 Nugent -r- -r-- NOV. 19, 1907 14961091 May"v -1; June 3, 1924 1,654,008 May Dec, 27, 1927 1,653,965 May Dec. 27, 1927 2,076,931 Adams Apr. 13, 1937 

